- Kitchen (novel)
Infobox Book
name = Kitchen
title_orig = キッチン
translator = Megan Backus
image_caption = Kitchen
author = Banana Yoshimoto
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =
language =
series =
subject =
genre =
publisher =Grove Press
release_date = 1988
english_release_date = 1993
media_type = Hardcover
pages = 152
isbn = ISBN 0-8021-1516-0
preceded_by = None
followed_by = English:NP (novel) "Kitchen" （キッチン）is a
novel written by Japaneseauthor Banana Yoshimoto (よしもとばなな）in1988 and translated into English in1993 byMegan Backus .Although one may notice a certain Western influence in Yoshimoto's style, "Kitchen" is still critically recognised as an example of contemporary
Japanese literature ; "The Independent ", "The Times " and "The New Yorker " have all reviewed the novel favourably.Most editions also include a
novella entitled "Moonlight Shadow", which is also a tragedy dealing with loss and love.There have been two films made of the story, a Japanese TV movie and a more widely released version produced in
Hong Kong byYim Ho in1997 .Plot
In this
novel , a young Japanese woman named Mikage Sakurai struggles to overcome the death of her grandmother. She gradually grows close to one of her grandmother's friends from a flower shop and ends up staying with him and histranssexual mother.The novel centers around
food and its preparation. From Mikage's love of kitchens to her job as a culinary teacher's assistant to the multiple scenes in which food is merely present, "Kitchen" is a short window into life of a young Japanese woman and her discoveries about food and love.Awards
* 6th Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize – November, 1987 [http://www.yoshimotobanana.com/ Banana Yoshimoto - profile] ]
* 16th Izumi Kyoka Literary Prize – January, 1988
* 39th Best Newcomer Artists – August, 1988Book information
"Kitchen" (English edition) by Banana Yoshimoto
*Hardcover - ISBN 0-8021-1516-0 published byGrove Press
*Paperback - ISBN 0-671-88018-7 published byWashington Square Press External links
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DD103BF934A25752C0A965958260 New York Times review]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
